ABSTRACT
Lorne Dwight Conquergood (1949–2004) was a pioneer and a foundational theorist in the field of performance studies. An associate professor at Northwestern University, Conquergood’s performance ethnographies brought together ideas from several fields, including critical theory, cultural anthropology, critical race studies, and theater. His insights into gang life-worlds are unparalleled within the ethnographic literature, as he drew on vast interdisciplinary literature to help us see the all-sidedness of the shared practices and meanings of gang members situated in specifically structured social, economic, and political contexts. Both methodologically and theoretically, he has left us a firm foundation on which to build the new traditions of a critical gang discourse.
